


Dare

by MorganaNK



Category: Inspector Lynley - All Media Types, Inspector Lynley Mysteries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-05-30 02:28:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15087026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganaNK/pseuds/MorganaNK
Summary: Waking up after a night on the tiles, Barbara discovers she has something other than a hangover to remember it by!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Property of Elizabeth George and the BBC, no copyright infringement intended
> 
> I'm currently watching my 31st screening of ILM this year (Drama channel have shown at least one episode a month since the 5th January... but normally many more!) and for some reason this idea came to me while watching 'Natural Causes' (I'm selectively ignoring the bits featuring Tommy and Helen 3.0 as I don't wish to have nightmares and enjoying the playful banter between Tommy and Barbara!)

_I opened my eyes and immediately regretted it as the brightness of the room exacerbated my pounding head. Rolling onto my side, I yelped as my full bodyweight rested on an extremely tender spot._

_Throwing back the duvet, I scrabbled upright and hitched up my t-shirt to discover a square of gauze taped to my right hip._

_“What the…?”_

_Cautiously, I peeled back the dressing… and discovered a tattoo._

_Headache forgotten, I ran into the bathroom to get a better look at it in the mirror. There, indelibly etched on my skin in a black elaborate font were two intertwined letters; T and B._

_“Fuck!”_

_I slumped down onto the toilet and tried to remember what exactly the hell I had got up to during the previous twenty-four hours…_

“You can’t just leave the story there.”

“I can, especially when there are so many more interesting ways that I could occupy my time.”

He playfully tapped me on the nose. “There’ll be none of that, not until you tell me the rest.”

I stuck my tongue out, “spoilsport!”

“The sooner you tell me, the sooner you get your reward…”

_My headache had forced me to go and hunt down a large coffee and some paracetamol. As I waited for the kettle to boil, I retrieved my phone and started to scroll through my messages and calls, hoping that something in them would jog my memory._

_Nothing._

_Next, I tried my photos. It was there I discovered a picture of me with Stuart and Winston. I was lying on a bed, a person I assumed to be the tattoo artist was bending over me, whereas Stuart and Winston were grinning from ear to ear and giving whoever had taken the picture a big thumbs up._

_Retrieving Stuart’s number, I hit call and waited for him to answer._

_“Barbara! How’s the head?”_

_Wincing at his loud bonhomie, I prepared my coffee and moved through to the lounge._

_“What on earth did we get up to last night?”_

_“I know not what you mean.”_

_“Stop the bullshit! I’ve woken up with a bloody tattoo!”_

_“Well, we did try and stop you.”_

_“Not very hard you didn’t.”_

_“You told us that it was your body and therefore your decision.”_

_I groaned. “You still could have tried harder.”_

_“You were the one who accepted the dare.”_

_“What dare? And who dared me?”_

_“Winston.”_

_“That tells me the who but not the what.”_

_“We took you out so that you could drown your sorrows over Tommy being away in Cornwall and ended up playing truth or dare… you chose dare and Winston dared you to get a tattoo. The choice of what you had tattooed was yours entirely.”_

_I grimaced at the comment about me having sorrows to drown, but decided not to mention that particular matter. “I am going to kill both of you, slowly, and extremely painfully.”_

_“You’ll have to catch up with us first.”_

_“I will. And you won’t see it coming. I have a long memory and a lot of patience.”_

_I ended the call when he laughed…_

“You accepted a dare that involved having a tattoo? I’m surprised at you Havers.”

I growled at him, even though I knew the effect it would have.

“Oooh, my little lioness is getting feisty.”

“Just how you like her.”

“You’re trying to distract me again, aren’t you?”

“Is it working?”

“No.”

“I’ve told you all there is to tell, you know the rest, or rather I hope you do or this lying in bed together naked could prove a little embarrassing.”

“Don’t worry, I know exactly how we ended up here; in fact, I recall it in exquisite detail. What I don’t know is how you let Stuart and Winston get away without some serious maiming, or at the very least experiencing the wrath of your sharp tongue.”

“I save that for you, masochist that you are.”

“Stop avoiding the subject.”

“I’m not avoiding. As I said, I’ve told you all there is to tell, and you know the rest.”

“You mean I know how gorgeous you are, how sexy I find you, and how if I stroke you just here, right where your tattoo is, you come over all unnecessary.”

I shivered as his fingers caressed my skin, his touch as light as butterfly wings.

“Another thing that you like.”

He rolled on top of me, brushing the hair from my face.

“There’s plenty of things I like about you Barbara Havers.”

I smiled affectionately at him. “Isn’t that lucky, because there’s plenty of things I like about you too Tommy Lynley, so isn’t it time you showed me some of them.”

His mouth moved next to my ear, his voice soft and oh so enticing. “That’s exactly what I’m planning to do.”

“Good to know…oh.”


	2. Chapter 2

_I was drenched; cold muddy water soaked through my clothes and chilled me to the bone, but I had no intention of getting up until I had the cuffs on Weston. He struggled beneath me, trying to throw me off, but I held firm, sitting on him while tugging his arms behind him._

_“Bloody stay still!” I growled, wondering what was keeping Tommy and the uniform backup._

_“Get off me bitch!”_

_“That’s Detective Sergeant Bitch to you, and no I will not get off.”_

_“I ain’t done nothing.”_

_I grimaced at the murdering of the English language._

_“Which means you did do something.” I then growled when I realised just how much working with Tommy ‘Grammar Police’ Lynley had rubbed off on me; I ain’t done nothing was something I would have said many years ago._

_“Having fun Havers?”_

_I risked a glance in the direction of the voice asking the question, before returning my focus to Weston._

_“More than you can possibly imagine. Now, are you just going to make comments from the peanut gallery, or are you going to help me get this idiot in cuffs?”_

_Laughing, he handed me his cuffs. I clicked them shut on Weston’s wrists, got to my feet, dragged him upright and pushed him towards the uniform officers._

_“He’s all yours, take him back to the station and then hose out your van.”_

_Tommy waited until they walked away before turning his attention back to me._

_“You’re shivering.”_

_“No shit Sherlock! And to think some people pay a fortune for mud baths.”_

_“Let’s get you back to the hotel so that you can shower and warm up.”_

_“What; you’re going to let me in your precious Bristol like this?”_

_“Well I’m not going to make you walk. I have some picnic blankets in the boot, we can wrap you in those to keep you warm and protect the leather seats.”_

_“You’re all heart.”_

_“I like to think so. Now, get a move on, we don’t want you going down with hypothermia.”_

_I stomped off in the direction of the car, muttering under my breath, Tommy trailing behind me, cackling with laughter…_

_I had squelched my way through the hotel, Tommy by my side, still laughing. Part of me wanted to laugh with him, while the rest of me wanted to kick him in the shins. Reaching my room, I fished my key out of my bag._

_“Give me twenty minutes and then we can go and interview Weston.”_

_I didn’t wait for Tommy to reply as I slipped into my room and closed the door in his face._

_Turning the shower on, I stripped off and stuffed my clothes in a carrier to deal with either when I could find a laundrette or when I got home. Stepping under the running water I set about removing mud from all my hard to reach places._

_Ten minutes later I walked into the bedroom drying my hair with a towel, only to stop dead when I saw Tommy sitting there on the bed._

_“SIR!” I felt myself colour up as his eyes scanned my naked form, and so I tried to cover what I could with the small hand towel._

_Tommy got to his feet, crossing the room until he was standing in front of me. With one hand he reached out and stilled my actions._

_“Don’t hide yourself from me Barbara.”_

_Hearing something in his voice, I stopped and looked him straight in the eye, swallowing deeply. His hand moved from my arm to my face, and he pushed back my damp hair._

_“You’re beautiful.”_

_Still I couldn’t find the words to reply. There was something about his tone, and the desire that I could see burning fiercely in his gaze. I dropped the towel and covered his hand with mine._

_“I knew that you would be.”_

_A little voice inside my head told me that I was playing with fire, but I chose to ignore it, my desire for Tommy greater than my fear._

_“Do you think about me naked?”_

_His free hand shifted to my waist, tugging me closer._

_“Clothed, naked, half undressed; I think about you all the time.”_

_“Oh, you do, do you?”_

_“God yes!”_

_“Well, now you have me, naked, and standing in front of you, what do you plan to do about it?”_

_“Explore every inch of you; repeatedly.”_

_“And what about Weston?”_

_“He can wait…”_

_The moment I saw Barbara step from the bathroom I knew. The feelings I had for her, the passion that I held for her deep inside my heart, they both bubbled to the surface and then spilled over uncontrollably. Even though I knew I should look away, my eyes would not obey._

_“SIR!”_

_She was embarrassed, that much was obvious, but there was something else. Her gaze, before she tried to cover herself and looked away, showed a hint of desire._

_I moved to her side, stilling her hand. “Don’t hide yourself from me Barbara.”_

_I trailed my fingers up her arm, threading them through her hair, brushing it back off her face. She didn’t speak, but looked directly at me, dropping the towel she was holding, her hand covering mine._

_“I knew that you would be.”_

_“Do you think about me naked?”_

_My free hand shifted to her waist, pulling her closer._

_“Clothed, naked, half undressed; I think about you all the time.”_

_“Oh, you do, do you?” I could hear the interest in her voice._

_“God yes!”_

_“Well, now you have me, naked, and standing in front of you, what do you plan to do about it?”_

_“Explore every inch of you; repeatedly.”_

_“And what about Weston?”_

_“He can wait…”_


	3. Chapter 3

“Why did you decide to let yourself into my room?”

“Do you object?”

“Hardly! I just wondered.”

“I was concerned about you.”

“Why?”

“Does there have to be a reason?”

“I suppose not, not when things have worked out so well. I have to admit though, finding you in my room shocked the hell out of me.”

“I kind of guessed as much, and if I hadn’t your high-pitched shrieking of the word ‘sir’ would have hammered the point home.”

“You make me sound like one of those women who would gather their skirts and stand on a chair if they saw a mouse.”

“As if! For one thing you don’t wear skirts, and there’s no way my little lioness would be afraid of a mouse.”

“Your little lioness?”

“Yes, I’ve always thought of you that way. You jump to my defence, you stand up for the underdog, but you also throw yourself in at the deep end without any thought for your own safety.”

“Unlike you pot.”

He smiled warmly at me, “okay kettle, I’ll give you that one. But I can’t be a lioness, unless I undergo a sex change, and that would spoil all of this.”

Chuckling, I rolled onto my stomach, “no sex change then.”

“Thank you for that. Now, I have a question for you. Your tattoo; care to explain just how you ended up with our initials entwined on your hip?”

“Well, it’s quite a long story, and we still have to interview Weston.”

“I sent Winston a text, told him to go ahead without us, so there’s no reason for you not to tell me all about it…”


End file.
